Iraq, Iran; al Qaeda, Bush

For those trying to pay attention:

Saddam Hussain = Sunni

al Qaeda = Sunni

Saudi Arabia = Sunni

Iraqis who've killed the most US troops = Sunni

Iraqis who have been kinda sorta on our side = Shiite

Iraqis who have come out ahead, sorta, after the fall of Saddam = Shiite

Country that's happy their old enemy Saddam got hung = Iran

Iran = Shiite

New enemy in the next war = Iran?!?

It's all so confusing. Read about the many more twisted details in the latest Seymour Hersch New Yorker blockbuster. Is it hinting that a war with Iran would be a way for Bush to correct a seriously fucked-up fuck-up?

After the revolution of 1979 brought a religious government to power, the United States broke with Iran and cultivated closer relations with the leaders of Sunni Arab states such as Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. That calculation became more complex after the September 11th attacks, especially with regard to the Saudis. Al Qaeda is Sunni, and many of its operatives came from extremist religious circles inside Saudi Arabia. Before the invasion of Iraq, in 2003, Administration officials, influenced by neoconservative ideologues, assumed that a Shiite government there could provide a pro-American balance to Sunni extremists, since Iraq’s Shiite majority had been oppressed under Saddam Hussein. They ignored warnings from the intelligence community about the ties between Iraqi Shiite leaders and Iran, where some had lived in exile for years. Now, to the distress of the White House, Iran has forged a close relationship with the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.